What's Your Plan?

In a couple weeks I'm going to be launching a new service.

Today's eZine is a brief preview of that service, but it's also a look at how to structure your business in challenging economic times.

My service will be a monthly online subscription called the "Action Plan Marketing Club." It will include online programs, interviews with top marketing experts, a monthly coaching call, an online mastermind group and much more.

It will distill virtually everything I've learned about marketing over the past 24 years and make it accessible all in one place. You'll be able to study how-to marketing strategies online, interact with other Independent Professionals like yourself, get feedback on your marketing materials and plans and even get direct marketing coaching from me.

And the best thing is that it will be ridiculously affordable.

There will be a charter membership rate for the first 500 members and a first-month introductory fee that will delight you.

Why will I be offering so much for so little?

For many years, lots of people have been asking me that question. When I started to sell marketing information products online I had to make a choice - inexpensive or expensive? I did a lot of serious thinking and came up with a strategy that has served me well over the years.

If I sold expensive products, like so many of the Internet entrepreneurs were doing, I felt I'd have to over-promise and over-hype to get the sale. You've seen the sales letters! I just didn't want to go that route.

If I sold inexpensive information products, I knew they'd be easier to sell. I also realized that I could serve many more people while still keeping the quality very high, yet avoiding the high-pressure and hype.

This strategy seems to have paid off, as I've done close to $2MM in online sales since 2001. Not bad for a one-person business working from my home office in the Santa Cruz Mountains!

But this has been only half of my strategy. As well as the inexpensive online sales, I've offered high-end marketing coaching programs where I spend considerable time with the participants. I'll be launching a new "Marketing Mastery Program" like this in the spring of 2009.

What I discovered was that the customers of the inexpensive products became the clients of the high-end programs. Ultimately, this overall business and marketing strategy gave me a very good financial base and allowed me to do what I loved best: developing new products and programs while working closely with program participants.

This was my strategy; the question is, what is yours?

Here are a few questions that you need to consider seriously if you're going to succeed in your business in the upcoming year. Despite the current economic conditions, I still believe that there are hugh opportunities for Independent Professionals.

1. What is your "Core Business"? That is, what is your niche and what are the primary solutions and outcomes that you are offering to that niche? You need to be focused yet have flexibility to create different services and programs for your target market.

2. How will you reach that niche with impact at a low cost? You need to be exploring all the options, from speaking to social networking. You must design and develop marketing strategies and then persist in implementing them.

3. What can you offer at the inexpensive end to get people into your pipeline (or as I like to say, your 'Marketing Ball Game')? You need to sell a fairly high volume of products or services that are easy to deliver with minimum administrative support. Online products, teleclasses and webinars are all good options.

4. What will you offer at the high-end that involves more of your time and hands-on work? You need to develop turnkey programs that do not need to be customized from scratch every time. Figure out how to develop a program that delivers consistent results for your clients every time and sell it for a premium price.

5. What is your plan to get your 'marketing infrastructure' in place? Your ability to set up web sites, email delivery systems, audio recording, transcribing, and email management are all vital for success. If you don't get these into place, you'll be bogged down by 'administrivia."

I know these are not easy questions to answer. Print this out and give them some serious thought. When I launch the "Action Plan Marketing Club" in late October we'll be exploring ideas like this and a whole lot more in great depth.

My goal will be to give you, as always, hands-on strategies and techniques that you can apply with minimum effort and struggle.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Is your business set up for success in an economic downturn? Are you prepared to sell a range of both low-end and high-end products, services and programs? If not, it's time to buckle down and get into action.

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What is your marketing and business plan for the coming year? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[Tohami]

Hi Robert,

After reading your info guru manual, I have re-structured my business. I'm now more focused and more targeted. I know where to find my customers and improve my marketing budget.

I am now implementing your advice and will monitor the resutls.

Looking forward to know more about your club.

Regards,
Tohami

[Grace]

Having been to a workshop this summer, reading the info guru manual, having the website toolkit, and your podcasts, and reading MANY articles by you, I am excited to know of an interactive program.

I hope there will both info from you and some way for us to be accountable and ask for help.

I do have a plan in action. I am contacting schools to help them with their fund raising. I do a teleconference for free, but they get to charge for the participants. I get exposure, they get fundraising. Great in this economic climate.

[Kammy Thurman]

Hi Robert,

Good stuff...and I can't wait to find out more about the marketing club!

[Sonja Jefferson]

Hi Robert,
This sounds very good to me. I help independent professionals write their marketing literature but I don't have anyone who does this for me! It's always good to have an independent view and I'd love some feedback and coaching, plus the opportunity to network with others. I look forward to the launch.
Sonja